All Right in the End
by Aria6
Summary: A short little vampire one-shot. Enjoy! Axel/Roxas of course.


Roxas could smell the mortal long before he saw him.

It was a rank smell. Roxas wrinkled his nose. His curse gave him very acute senses and right now they were detecting a not so appetizing combination of piss, sweat and filth. Did this person ever bathe? Briefly he considered going to find better prey but this one was very close to his home. It would be much better for him if he didn't have to hunt much and no one ever noticed missing street people. Although who knows? Maybe he would let this one live.

Roxas smiled as he realized the person was sheltering behind the woodpile. Perfect. Then he saw the person in question and lost his smile.

"Scheisse!" He reverted to his native German for a moment at the sight of the tiny child curled up beside the wood. There went his plan. A child would certainly die from a feeding and Roxas was many things but not a child killer. The boy looked up, startled, and Roxas saw feverish green eyes. He caught those eyes easily and saw the intelligence in them dull as the boy fell easily into his domination. A sick street brat would have no resistance to any such control. "Come here boy." He ordered the child and he obediently uncurled, pushing himself up and limping over. Roxas frowned as he gently touched the child's chin, tilting his head to see him better.

Even with the dirt and bruises the boy was a lovely child. His coloring was dramatic, pale skin, Irish red hair and greener eyes than Roxas had ever seen. True green was such a rare color. That was interesting but his facial structure was even more so. Delicate yet firm, there was a promise of great beauty there. Although you could never be quite sure of that. There was always the possibility that his nose would grow faster than the rest of his face, just to name one flaw.

Roxas gently checked over the spellbound child, lifting his clothing and seeing many, many bruises and what looked like whip marks. The blonde's lips compressed as he saw the gashes and knew them to be from a belt buckle. He had sported ones just like them as a child. Roxas could also tell the child was malnourished and feverish. No doubt his body had been weakened from living on the streets. Roxas made a quick decision. He could hunt later. Scooping up the child he used his domination to make the boy sleep. He let out a small sigh before he closed his eyes and curled up against Roxas' neck. The smell was appalling but Roxas felt something melt inside. And with that came the all too familiar fear…

Ignoring it all, he carried the child back to his nest. It had been a long time since he'd had a pet. This redhead would be ideal.

* * *

"Roxas, again?" Roxas snarled at his brother. Sora's disapproval was annoying. "And how old is that boy? He can't be past six!" Washed, bandaged and snug in a bed, the child looked younger than ever. And the hair that had been lank and stringy before was curling into natural spikes. "What are you going to do with this one?"

"I'm going to keep him." Sora looked pained at the answer and Roxas scowled. "I need a pet too!" Sora had a pet, a beautiful silver haired boy named Riku. He was a ghoul, fed on Sora's blood and had been with them for centuries.

"But you always break them." Sora retorted and Roxas lips compressed into a thin line. His brother was correct. Keeping up a full domination on a ghoul eventually destroyed his or her will, leading to catatonia. And they lost their personality long before they died, so Roxas usually just ate them.

"I won't have to keep full domination on a child." He said but it was weak. Roxas knew he probably would, just to be on the safe side. "Leave me alone Sora." His voice broke and his brother sighed before withdrawing. They'd had this conversation a few times before, when he took someone who really tugged on Sora's heartstrings. But Roxas couldn't let them go. He couldn't. "You'll love me." He whispered to the sleeping child and sniffed, rubbing his eyes.

It would only last a short time, but the boy would love him.

* * *

"You can get down now Axel." Roxas said as he wiped the paint off his fingers. The adolescent jumped down from the platform, all smiles. "And you can put on your clothes." Axel looked down at himself as if he was surprised to see he was naked. He probably was. Living with vampire domination was like living in a world of candyfloss dreams, or so Roxas had been told. "Hm. Actually, leave them off." Roxas was in the mood for a bit of relaxation.

The child he'd rescued from the streets was growing into the promise of beauty Roxas had seen that dark night. Even in this gawky, adolescent stage he was pretty, without a single blemish on his skin. But then, the vampire blood he drank every night helped keep minor infections and other ailments away. Green eyes glowed with the faint echo of Roxas' power and that lovely red hair felt like a wolf's pelt under Roxas' fingers, heavy and strong. The blonde smiled as Axel submitted to his touches without complaint, his eyes heavy with pleasure. Roxas laughed softly and picked up the redhead. Even still growing, the boy was taller than him but it didn't matter. His vampire strength could bend metal bars, carrying one almost grown boy was nothing. He set the redhead onto the bed and stripped his own clothes off in a fluid, practiced motion.

Axel knelt in front of him, an obedient pet, and Roxas smiled as he ran a hand through that wonderful red hair again. Then he shoved into the boy without preparations or lubricant. There was a guttural sound of pain that quickly turned into a moan of pleasure as Roxas exerted the domination. It was so easy to make pain into pleasure if you knew how. He could have torn the redhead to pieces, nailed him to a cross and made him smile if he'd wanted. He'd done it occasionally to pets that disappointed him, but none of them had been anywhere near as special as Axel.

The sex was animal-like and intense. Blood made good lubricant and Roxas ignored it as it began trickling down Axel's thighs. He savored the heat under him, the hot tightness that twitched and clenched around his cock. The teenager under him was gasping, making the cute little sounds he always did during sex and Roxas tightened his domination, enhancing all the pleasure. Axel came with a cry, tossing his head back, wide-eyed and trembling at the intense feeling. Roxas pounded into him a few moments longer before he came as well, filling the boy with his seed. He pulled away and smiled at the trails of blood on Axel's legs. Lowering his face, he licked at them, tasting the heavy sweetness of the blood. It was a good appetizer.

"Mmm." Axel slid down onto his side, looking up at him with glazed eyes. "Roxas, I love you." He murmured and the blonde paused, feeling something inside him tighten. He could have made any of his lovers say anything he wanted, from dirty talk to endearments. But he hadn't asked Axel to say that, hadn't requested it on any level. Roxas couldn't remember any of his past lovers just… saying things like that, without prompting. What did it mean?

"I love you too." He whispered back but kept up his domination. Roxas just couldn't trust those whispered words. He had to be sure.

Even if it cost Axel his life.

* * *

"He's doing better than your other pets." Sora mentioned as he watched Axel and Riku together. The silver hair had the duty of training the younger ghoul and Axel had an agile mind even beneath the domination. How intelligent would he be without it? Roxas shivered faintly at the thought and had to force himself not to tighten the magic over the redhead. He wanted Axel to last as long as he could.

"Yes, he is." Roxas was a bit surprised Axel had lived to adulthood. He was a handsome young man now, with an impish smile and a mischievous nature. He was also much taller than Roxas, which was a little annoying sometimes. But then, almost everyone was taller than him. Sora was silent for a long moment.

"Roxas, you need to let him go." The brunette suddenly said and Roxas glared at him. "You _have_ to. I think he really likes you but you'll never know unless you let him go." Roxas bit his lip. Sora often asked him to let go of his pets but this was the first time he'd said something like that. Could he be right? Could Axel really like him? Even… love him?

_Sora… the expression is 'a face only a mother could love'. What does it mean when even your mother couldn't love you?_

_It means she's an evil cow!_

Roxas smiled briefly as he remembered that exchange, but then it vanished. In his head, he knew Sora was right. Their mother had been an evil cow. But it was so hard to take a chance, so hard to let go of the bird and hope it wouldn't fly away. Or worse. Roxas had let go of a few of his pets in the past and the usual reaction when they came out from under the domination was to attack him. The blonde vampire didn't think he could bear that reaction from Axel.

"I'll think about it." Sora sighed but Roxas meant it. He'd been teaching Axel to paint, although he wasn't very good at it yet, and could have intelligent conversations with the redhead. He loved his pet more than any other ghoul he'd had. So he would think about it, as frightening as the idea of letting go was.

For Axel's sake, he would think about it.

* * *

_Pain._

_Burning oh god the burning make it stop! Fear dark pain heat help –_

_Hands. Hands and a good smell, someone yelling? That smell. Hot iron yes blood must drink drink drink…_

* * *

Roxas blinked, feeling sick and incredibly weak. At first he was disoriented but then he vaguely recognized the place as an old crypt he and Sora sometimes hid out in. But why were they here? Why weren't they at the house? And why did he feel so sick?

"Sora?" Roxas could barely recognize his own voice. He sounded terribly hoarse.

"He's out hunting. Don't move." Riku. Roxas had never been so glad to hear that calm, centred voice. He turned his head to see the silver haired ghoul staying carefully out of reach as he watched him warily. "Are you hungry?"

"…Yes." He was a bit hungry although not ravenous. In fact, he felt a bit bloated, like he'd eaten heavily recently. That was odd. Riku nodded and brought out a chicken. Roxas grimaced as the creature squawked. He hated eating livestock but they made for convenient snacks between real meals. He quickly dispatched the bird and felt better for it. "What happened?" His voice was still a bit rough but it sounded better. Riku sighed and began to speak.

"There was a fire. I'm not sure what caused it but the fire department is talking about an electrical fire." Roxas frowned. The house had been old but they'd had it thoroughly inspected. "Fortunately it was dusk or you both would have died. As it was I managed to get Sora out mostly uninjured… unfortunately you were more badly hurt by the fire and the setting sun." Riku hesitated so briefly Roxas almost thought he'd imagined it. "You're going to be fine."

"How is Axel?" Roxas immediately noticed the one person Riku hadn't mentioned in the recital. There was a silence and the blonde swallowed hard. "Is he…" If Axel was dead, Roxas wasn't sure what he'd do. He couldn't even begin to imagine life without the redhead. How had his favorite ghoul become so central to his life? Roxas wasn't even sure. Riku swallowed before speaking very reluctantly.

"I'm afraid he… tried to rescue you. He wasn't aware of how badly the burns and the sunlight would affect you." Roxas stared at Riku, feeling frozen. "I tried to warn him but you frenzied and – and went for the nearest source of blood. I'm sorry."

"No. No, I couldn't have –" But even as he said that he knew it wasn't true. A vampire in the grip of the frenzy would kill anyone. Sister, brother, lover, it didn't matter. All that mattered was the blood. "Has Sora – has he –" Roxas swallowed hard and couldn't go on. Usually when one of his pets died unexpectedly they would stake the body to ensure it didn't rise as a vampire. If they did rise, they tended to try to take revenge on him for enslaving them. But Axel was different and Roxas wasn't sure what answer he wanted to hear.

"Not yet." Riku sounded even more reluctant but Roxas was glad. "He wanted to find out if that was what you really wanted. His body is over there." Roxas followed Riku's gesture and saw a blanket covered body. Quickly scrambling off his own resting place he went to Axel's side.

The redhead looked very peaceful in death. It might have been possible to think he was sleeping if you ignored his pallor and the great, gaping wound on his throat. Roxas winced as he saw it. He'd have been much too far gone to charm Axel so the redhead would have suffered the pain of having his throat torn out. Sniffing faintly, he reached out and stroked the red hair. It felt as it had always felt, strong and thick beneath his fingers.

"I… don't want to." It was frightening, very frightening, but Roxas couldn't bear to have Axel staked. It was quite likely he'd rise as a vampire after drinking his blood for so long, and maybe the redhead would want to kill him, but Roxas had to take that chance. He cared too much for him not to. Riku nodded, unsurprised.

"Sora thought you might feel that way. He's already showing signs of turning. You were out for two days." Riku added as Roxas looked up. The blonde nodded, wiping away a bit of moisture from his eyes. Was he crying? He hadn't cried in decades.

"Thank you." He whispered and leaned down to give Axel a gentle kiss on his temple. "I guess we'll know tomorrow." If Axel would rise from the dead and if the redhead would love him. Despite the signs Riku had noticed it was in no way certain. The curse was only transmitted perhaps a quarter of the time which was why Sora had never tried to bring Riku fully into their dark land. The danger of losing the silver hair forever was just too high.

Roxas hoped Axel would rise from the dead… and that the redhead wouldn't hate him for what he had done.

* * *

Roxas watched the dead body with dull eyes. Axel should have been turning by now. His throat had healed or perhaps reformed, which was a good sign. But the redhead was stubbornly staying dead.

"He could come back anytime Roxy. Don't worry so much." Sora consoled him but Roxas just shook his head. "You really love him, don't you?" The brunette said softly and Roxas sniffed, rubbing his eyes.

"I didn't realize how much until this happened." He admitted, looking down. "He's the only one who said he loved me." Sora looked dubious until Roxas continued. "I never asked him to, never even wanted him to… he just did. Because he wanted to."

"Oh Roxy." Sora's arms were around him then and Roxas resisted for a moment before accepting the comfort. "He'll be fine. I'm sure he will." The brunette consoled him. Roxas nodded slightly before closing his eyes. He wished this was over, wished the suspense was done and Axel was either dead or by his side or trying to kill him –

"Mmm." The soft murmur drew both their attention. Brilliant green eyes were half-open and glittering with hunger. "Roxy… ah?" Axel smoothly rose to his feet but then swayed. His eyes darted around the room and they could both tell he was looking for prey.

"Axel. Here." Roxas said as firmly as he could, nicking his wrist. He'd eaten well and Axel desperately needed the blood if he was going to remain sane. Riku wasn't in the room, for the good and simple reason that a new vampire would be tempted to make him a meal. Axel obediently took his wrist and Roxas felt a bit of relief, followed by unease. The former ghoul might just be following old habits. He might attack as soon as that wore off. Axel drank deeply and Roxas was feeling a little light headed by the time he was done. Sora watched closely as Axel lifted his head, giving Roxas a bloody smile.

"I remember dying… I'm a vampire now?" Axel asked, touching his throat. There was no remainder of the wounds that had killed him. At Roxas' cautious nod his smile widened. "Ah, wonderful." Roxas squeaked as he found Axel's arms around him, the redhead's lips pressed firmly against his. He could taste the blood on his lips and it was good. So was the way Axel was squeezing his ass.

"You don't – ah!" Axel's hands were going far too many places. Roxas gasped but he had to say it. "You don't hate me?" He had stolen away so many years of Axel's life. The redhead paused, confused.

"Why should I hate you?" He sounded honestly puzzled and Roxas struggled to find an answer. All the others had hated him for the domination. This didn't make any sense. "I love you. I always have. You saved me from my parents and living on the streets, you raised me and cared for me… how could I not love you? My beautiful blonde." Axel's voice dropped to a sexy purr. "I want to do you the way you've always done me." Roxas swallowed hard, his pants too tight as Axel lowered his face and began exploring his throat. That felt so _good…_ "Mmm, it's so nice being able to think clearly." Axel hummed softly to himself as Roxas gasped. "I can think about all the reasons I love you. Your beautiful eyes… your sweet laugh… your –"

"Overdose of sugar… I'm going to be outside, have fun Roxy!" Sora said brightly before beating a retreat. Roxas would have thrown something at him but Axel took that moment to give him another deep, passionate kiss. Roxas tried to think for a moment then gave up and let himself be carried away by the pleasure.

Sometimes, things did work out right in the end.


End file.
